Friday, September 14, 2018

Lousy Leaders, Bad Bosses, Damning Dictators

Poison and subpar people in power. Why is this so often the case?

Of course, there are many fantastic and phenomenal bosses out there, to be sure.

However, it seems like people tend to have far more "bad boss" stories as opposed to good ones. That, when considering the whole of ones personal employment history, the poor management and leaders more often than not, outweigh the incidence of good ones.

How can it be that so many people who make it into such prominent, high power, leadership roles are much of the time, totally ill equipped or even downright awful at it?
There are several reasons for such, both that I have observed personally, as well as gleaned via my reading on this topic....

1. They don't have a handle on their own emotions (aka, emotionally immature).

A person simply cannot effectively lead others if not in control of, or thoughtfully aware, with regards to their own emotions. Most people need greater awareness of why they feel the ways they do. This would result in improved awareness and greater choice with regards to the ways they then respond to and act on those emotions.

Often times, people tend to be defensive when met with information about themselves that might be hard to hear, though indicates areas in which they may need to grow. People also tend to blame others, a lot. Its tough to take responsibility and admit error/fault. Its rare to find a person with much personal clarity, self awareness, and a sense of personal responsibility (without defensiveness or anger accompanying). Thus, many people move through life in a cloud and/or rut of remaining just as they are, with little to no personal growth, or true inner emotional awareness.

Further, while some people do this, most do not, and what I am referring to is this: the active pursuit of continual learning, growth, and seeking of wisdom. Via many routes, including reading books, articles, taking classes, and receiving feedback from others (both positive and negative)- considering such carefully, and then growing in the areas where need be. Most people do not do this, much, if at all. Hence, all of this tying into a major reason why we have so many poor leaders. They don't have a handle on their own emotions, nor even really much awareness of such.

2. A lot of people have never seen inspiring, motivating, high quality managers in action themselves.
Because there are so many lousy leaders and bad bosses out there, just like there are numerous other unhealthy relational models (romantic ones, communication ones, etc), when this is all a person has ever known/experienced/witnessed, they don't know any better. And thus, they assume that the dysfunctional, crappy managers they have seen are actually what is the "norm." And potentially, even mistaking these poor managers for decent ones.

Good managers: empower others, build a vision for the future and inspire others to follow, respect your boundaries, encourage corporation and collaboration between people, understand and honor what makes their employees tick, and much more. The vast majority of managers are so overwhelmed with whats on their plate that they fail to attend to (or even care) about the needs of their staff.
Unfortunately, as humans, we believe what we see. And there are few great role models out there for us to learn from. The truly great leaders usually ascend up the ladder quick and shoot out of our orbit before we can learn from them.

3. Many managers mistake authoritarianism for leadership.

Many managers think that parading their power and influence for all to see, and demanding blind submissions to their will, is leadership. It isn't. Instead, that's called being a dictator and bully. How many of us have had a boss who insists on our being a "yes" man or woman as being the only means by which we can succeed in their company? How many of us have had our ideas suppressed or contributions undermined, and our growth thwarted because of a narcissitic boss who cannot tolerate being challenged or being given difficult feedback? This is not a good boss.

4. Communication skills are sorely lacking in a lot of managers (as well as, a lot of people in general throughout our culture).

So many of us are utterly mindless when it comes to how we communicate, and the powerful impact of our words and actions. Again, sadly, many in corporate America are more comfortable using their words as weapons rather than communicating in kind, open, gracious ways that pave the way for better listening, trust, and collaboration.

5. Too worried about politics and managing (and kissing) up.

Terrible managers worry more about kissing up, being noticed, and getting ahead, rather than doing the right work at the right time, with the right people. Being politically savvy is certainly important, but spending most of your time and energy maneuvering to step over others and reach the next level makes you a lousy manager. If your sights are solely on the prize of a better title and salary, youll miss plethoras of opportunities to grow, learn, develop, and lead in the truest sense.

6. They are miserable in their own careers.

Believe it or not, a lot of people with "top" positions and huge salaries are not especially happy people.Many are strained and overly worked, incredibly stressed, and are struggling in a job they dislike intensely. Often times, someone like this is too wrapped up in their own unhappiness and stress to see straight.

If stuck under a terrible boss, there are several solutions and things you might do:

--Use this as a temporary learning experience. Unfortunately, there are a lot of difficult and even bad people out there. One needs to learn particular skills (very strong personal boundaries, inner strength and confidence, etc) in order to deal effectively with these people and not let them affect ones own life negatively. Your current job can be a perfect learning experience for this very point.

--Begin interviewing widely outside your company/current workplace, to get a better idea of your own worth in the marketplace, as well as to assess what else is out there. (Trust me, you are never stuck anywhere, and there are always LOADS of othert possibilities, opportunities, and so much more beyond wherever you are at the moment. Do not forge this).

--If you aren't going to switch jobs at the moment, explore new ways to do work you love in another department, group, or division that is out from under this boss.
--Build a powerful support network within, as well as outside your current employer, to help support you to change jobs when the time is right.
--Develop a mentor/close friend at your company who can have your best interests at heart and help you navigate these challenging waters.
--Actually put in the effort to seek out and secure another job. You spend 8-9 hours a day at your workplace. If its somewhere you feel largely miserable, this is a problem, and one that needs to be addressed, and changed. Life is way, way too short to spend the vast majority of your waking hours in a place that feels deeply distressful, totally unfulfilling, or miserable.

--Use this experience with this terrible boss (and the other crappy ones you have had prior), to learn about the kinds of ways you do not wish to be/behave/act, both as a person in general, as well as a potential prospective leader yourself someday. We desperately need more good leaders/managers/bosses. You can be one of them.

If you are struggling under the stress of having an awful boss though, don't forget, this is just one job, and just one person. We often forget just how much more there is beyond the narrow picture of what each of our lives are at the moment.

There is SO much more out there, endless possibilities awaiting. Additional job opportunities you likely haven't even considered or had cross your consideration. Even other career options that you hadn't thought of, which are likely to be just as good a fit for you as your current one, if not better.

Life is short, and fast. All of which is one big experiment. If the current experiment isn't working so hot any longer, it might be time to seek out a new one. Learn from it while you are there, but do not remain complacent, stuck, or stay in something that isn't a great, as well as healthy and inspiring fit for you over the long term.